Africa GreenCo, the region's leading renewable energy trader, is expanding its operations across Southern Africa. File photo
Africa GreenCo is the only regional buyer and trader of renewable energy in Southern Africa with current operations in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It will be extending its operations to include Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
GreenCo provides customised Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for independent power producers and bespoke solutions for corporate off-takers. Their expertise lies in forecasting energy production and in trading, along with their involvement in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), ensures a reliable and stable energy supply for clients with over 1 terawatt-hours (TWh) traded. A terawatt-hour is equal to one trillion watts for one hour.
"The synergy between renewable energy and mining in Southern Africa has never been more critical. We have the opportunity to power mining operations with reliable, affordable clean energy - helping them decarbonise - while recognizing that global decarbonization goals depend on the very critical minerals these mines produce. The Mining Indaba is increasingly becoming a platform for the energy-mining nexus conversation," Ana Hajduka, the Group CEO, Africa GreenCo, said.
Eskom is expanding its regional power sales as it now has an excess of power and in November 2024 increased its electricity exports by 43.7% year-on-year (y/y) to 1 502 gigawatt-hours (GWh). A gigawatt-hour is equal to one billion watt-hours or one million kilowatt-hours.
GreenCo’s import/export license granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) allows it to establish crucial links between South Africa’s electricity market and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), so that in times of drought, when hydropower is constrained, it can help to export surplus wind and solar power from South Africa to the neighbouring countries. Conversely, when dams are full it can then export cheap 24-hour hydropower to South Africa from dams such as Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa.
The importance of regional collaboration in building robust and interconnected energy markets, thus supporting the sustainable development of the region, as well as economic growth through regional derisking was highlighted at the 15th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly in Abu Dhabi on January 12, when Kandeh Yumkella, said Africa has huge energy potential and the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA) can help finance this.
APRA was launched at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties 28 (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) by African countries and international partners and is designed to help realise Africa’s vision for sustainable socio-economic development and provide access to funding.
At present APRA members are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
Africa received less than 2% of the global investment in renewable energy projects in 2024, but APRA would help to increase this share as it would mitigate risk by partnering with multilateral development finance institutions (DFI), as well as countries such as Denmark, Germany, the UAE and the US.
Tom Alweendo, the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia, said that energy transition was not a choice, but a must, and African countries could learn a lot from other countries and did not need to re-invent the wheel.
“We need to look at our own national priorities, while at the same time increase investor confidence. Blended finance can help bridge the finance gap, so IRENA provides a platform for high level dialogue on these issues,” he said.
The Nairobi Declaration in 2023 set the ambitious target of increasing Africa’s renewable energy capacity from 56 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to at least 300 GW by 2030, which exceeds the IRENA target of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.
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